Tuesday, March 14, 2017

HOW I GOT GREY HAIR + HOW I MAINTAIN IT

The most asked questions I get are always about my hair. I thought it’d be
way easier to write a big ol’ detailed blog post all about getting grey hair,
and its maintenance, to save me answering every person individually. So here we
go! Here’s everything to do with getting grey hair, and how I maintain it!

The basics are to start with a white blonde, or at least very
light blonde base. I’ve had my hair bleached since I was 13 (so you can
imagine how lovely it feels now) and so it was quite easy and low-cost to
transition from my pale blonde hair to my silver-grey hair. Then comes the toning stage! I use a very pigmented
purple shampoo, such as BLEACH London’s Silver Shampoo or the Pro:Voke
Brightening Shampoo. To get grey hair, it’s really important to tone away any
yellowness or brassy orange out of your hair. You have to start with an ashy, cool blonde base!

The dye I use is always my one
and only favourite, the Colour Freedom Metallic Glory dye in Silver Grey. It’s
the second lightest (after Silver Blonde) and I choose it because it lasts
slightly longer, and fades out slower. It’s quite a deep grey when it first
applies, but after time, it fades to a pretty pearly silver. I need two boxes of this bad boy, as my
hair is long-ish. I always apply it onto dry hair for more colour pay-off, and leave it to work for about 45 minutes
before rinsing it off.

After dyeing I always mix the Colour
Freedom conditioner sachet with some of my Macadamia Deep Repair Masque, as
it’s super nourishing and revives my hair a little bit better than using just
the sachet conditioner alone. It also smells ah-mazing, and makes my hair look
smoother. Then, when I’m out of the shower, I put a generous squeeze of the OGX
Argan Oil through the lengths and ends of my hair, to give it added shine and
strength.

TLC I tend to use on a weekly
basis (as my hair often starts feeling a little bit brittle and dry) is
definitely always the Macadamia Deep Repair Masque. I also love to brighten the
grey dye with my BLEACH London Silver Shampoo every week. I’ve also really cut down on my blow-drying and straightening. I
almost always leave my hair to air dry and try to keep brushing really gentle
too.

Every day maintenance is actually surprisingly
easy. The Colour Freedom Silver Grey dye is permanent, and although it fades,
it fades in a pretty way and ends up looking quite nice. I’ve been really
impressed with the Dove haircare range lately. It’s sooo cheap but smells
lovely and seems to work really well for my hair, leaving it shiny and tangle-free.
The Colour Care shampoo by Dove is very gentle on my hair colour, and
definitely seems to keep the colour as in-tact as possible. Then I love the
Nourishing Oil Care Conditioner as, even for an everyday conditioner, is
amazingly softening and creates a really pretty shine. I do try to minimise how often I’m washing it to minimise it fading
so quickly, so I refresh my hair using Batiste’s Dry Shampoo and aim to wash it
properly every 3 days. A quick spray of my dry shampoo keeps it looking clean,
and stops me having to wash the colour out so fast.

The next dye session is usually due about 6-8
weeks later. I generally find I need to do this sooner if I forget to use the
purple shampoo to tone out any blonde that starts coming through. As long as I
remember to tone out the brassy bits with my purple shampoo, I can leave it
about two months between dyeing it.

It’s really quite easy! I’d definitely recommend you do your research into
grey dyes, as I’ve heard some horror stories about greys fading to greens or
blues. But in terms of actually GETTING to the grey stage, as long as you’re
white blonde to begin with, it’s a piece of pie. I’m always open to answering
questions on my insta or twitter, so if you think of any, make sure you let me
know.